Conventional United States military CB protective ensembles include a respirator with a 6-point head fabric head harness, and a protective fabric suit with a hood and drawstring. The procedure for a soldier wearing a helmet to don the respirator is generally as follows: (1) remove helmet; (2) put respirator up to face with one hand and tighten the suspension straps of the head harness with the other to secure the respirator to the face; (3) flip hood up over head and tighten the opening of the hood around the respirator with the drawstring; (4) place helmet back on head; (5) adjust and re-secure helmet chinstrap to rest on the neck behind the respirator (if possible). However, the above procedure requires removing, re-donning, and adjusting the chinstrap of the helmet, which takes time and if done incorrectly can compromise or eliminate the respirator's protection. Moreover, in the above procedure, the protective hood is positioned under the helmet, which can create discomfort to the user and raise the helmet on the user's head thereby decreasing the helmet's protective coverage area.